Rebel
by marleysauce
Summary: Tahno becomes slightly unhinged after losing his bending, and Korra feels the world spiraling out of control around her. There's only one obvious solution to their problems: rebel. Tahnorra, Masami, slight Makorra.
1. Chapter 1

**Don't you guys think Tahnorra is just fantastic? Isn't it just the **_**bees-knees?**_

**I also like Borra, but this seemed like it would be more fun to write, so hold onto your feels! **

Rebel

Tahno had never thought of himself as a coward. He'd always been in control of everything around him, and when you're in control you have nothing to fear. His friends, his teammates, his groupies—for so long they had all followed his lead. They had made him feel powerful. The accolades, the fame, the screaming crowds, the girls crying for his autograph—_I had everything_. Everything he'd ever wanted his whole life long. People had feared and respected him, within the arena and without, and now…

Now they had all abandoned him. People who had once adored him looked at him with pity, or fear, as if he carried some disease that they could catch. His teammates he hadn't heard from in weeks, but he also found he didn't really care. He didn't know if he could stand being around them, or to look at their sad, pathetic faces, because he was sure that what he saw there would be mirrored in his own. _Were they ever really my friends?_, he wondered, or had they just feeding off each other's vanity, and desire to win?

The river rushed by below, the churning waters silent where once they had practically sung to him. Now it just sounded like _water,_ slapping and sloshing against the banks. When it rained, he could feel the water on his skin, and hear it pounding on the roof, but he couldn't feel that comforting thrill that was his connection to the element. The place inside of him that he had once used to reach out, to feel the water, to make it do it his bidding was just a dead, empty space. _Useless_, he thought. What could he do now that he was no longer a bender? There wasn't anything else he knew _how_ to do.

_I'm completely useless now. I'm a useless, powerless coward_. His grip on the railing tightened, and his already pale skin paled even further around his knuckles. The water continued to flow a hundred feet underneath the bridge. It should have been easy to jump down into the breakers, but he found that without his bending he just didn't have the courage. The river didn't beckon to him the way it should have. He'd been in worse water, in raging storms, and hadn't felt the slightest twinge of fear. What did a waterbender have to fear from the water, after all?

Now he knew how non-benders felt, and he didn't understand how they were able to live the way they did. How could they go swimming, or even bathe when they had no idea what the water might do? _Amon would have done better to just kill me,_ he thought; he should just kill _all_ the benders, in fact. That would be a far kinder fate than the one he had forced upon Tahno, and everyone else whose bending he had taken away. _He took my _life_. He took everything from me_. Tahno had _nothing_, nothing left to live for, and _no one_.

With a heavy sigh, he finally released the grip he'd had on the cold, slick railing. His hands ached from the chill and the strain, and he raised them to his face, covering his weary eyes. Cars rushed by behind him, but none ever stopped, or even slowed down to see if there might be something wrong with the man standing on the side of the bridge. _I'm so tired_, he thought. He was tired, and empty, and alone, and he didn't even have the guts to put an end to it.

The sound of approaching footsteps slowly reached his ears, but he didn't look up, didn't lower his hands. A few other pedestrians had passed, and each time his resolve had weakened. He'd told himself he'd do it once there was no one around, but he hadn't.

The footsteps came closer and closer, and he heard an accompanying shuffling, and snuffling noise. Finally they stopped, scuffing on the pavement a few feet away, and he heard what was quite possibly the last voice he would have wanted to hear.

"Tahno? Is that you?"

The Avatar. Perfect.

Slowly, he let his hands drop to his sides, and he half-turned to face her. She was wearing a heavy winter coat, and she had that beast with her; the Abominable Snow-Mutt. He remembered the feeling of its hot breath on his throat as it roared deafeningly in his face. That had been one of the rare moments where he'd been thrown off his game; he'd felt afraid, and he hadn't liked it one bit. It was nothing, however, in comparison to how he'd felt when Amon had been bearing down on him. That fear, the sickening, gut-wrenching _terror_ had nearly choked him. The nightmares he'd had every night since had kept him awake, depriving him of both sleep and sanity.

"Ah-vatar," he said, hoping his voice didn't sound as hollow as the word felt in his mouth.

"What are you doing out here?" she asked, folding her arms across her stomach, almost like she was hugging herself. _I know we're not exactly best friends, but I'm sorry Amon took your bending_.

"Enjoying the view," he replied, gesturing widely and wondering where he'd summoned up the sarcasm for the statement. The city was bathed in fog that afternoon—he couldn't even see the harbor from where he stood. Just the river below and the road behind him.

She cocked her head at him, one eyebrow arched, examining him like he was some strange, unfamiliar creature. "You look terrible," she said bluntly, and he was surprised when he barked a laugh. It was a short, harsh sound, and bitter, but he hadn't laughed since before the championship match. The sound of it caught him off guard, but he noticed that it made her smile.

"Thank you for that keen observation," he said once he'd recovered.

"I see your sense of humor is still intact," she quipped back, raising a hand to lie on her snow-beast's massive head. Her grin faded after a moment, and he turned back to watch the churning waters. "Is something wrong?" she asked, then she blanched, and shook her hands dismissively a split second later, "Ugh, that's a stupid question, sorry—you don't have to answer that." For a wonder, he felt a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. It was amusing to see her flustered like that, instead of glaring at him, or laughing after besting him. _She did it twice_, he thought. Once with that spirits-damned dog, and again during their tie-breaker when she'd knocked off his helmet. Nobody else had ever dared try.

By rights he should have hated her, but he found he didn't have the wherewithal. Besides, how could he truly hate her, when she was his one hope for revenge?

For a brief moment, he actually considered telling her why he was there, what he'd wanted to do when he left his apartment that morning. "What brings you out on a miserable day like today?" he asked instead.

"I-," she began, then frowned, cutting herself off, "Nothing. Just out for a walk. Naga gets antsy, being cooped up on the island all the time." It took him a moment to realize she was talking about the dog. The animal stood there, waiting patiently, tongue lolling out. He supposed it wasn't all that menacing when it didn't need to be. "I was just about to go grab something to eat. You wanna come?"

A few seconds passed before he answered—honestly, her offer had taken him aback. _We're not exactly best friends_. He spared one last glance at the river, before turning away from the railing. "As long as we don't get noodles." Her answering laughter was off-putting, but not in a bad way.

They ended up at a fried fish stand, loitering underneath the awning as Korra ate her food with gusto and Tahno picked at his with disdain. He wasn't even hungry, so he wasn't entirely sure why he'd come along. Perhaps he'd just been tired of standing on that bridge, and disgusted with his failure, besides. Neither of them spoke much, except for when Korra muttered the occasional command or nonsense phrase to her pet. The beast sat there calmly, tail waving, eyes fixed intently on their food, waiting for a morsel to be tossed up for it to catch.

"So," she said, wiping her hands on a napkin once she was done eating—Tahno's food was barely touched, and getting cold, and he didn't like the way the dog was staring at him expectantly, "You don't have to answer this, either, but... how _are_ you doing?"

"Fantastic," he answered, tone dripping with bitter sarcasm.

"I figured," she said, pausing, biting her lip before she went on, "I can't imagine what it must be like, having your bending gone."

"No," he agreed, "you can't." And things had been going so well up until then. Feeling a sudden need to wallow in misery alone, he set his tray down on the counter and started off down the sidewalk.

"Hey, wait!" she called after him. It only took a few strides for her to catch up, "I didn't mean—I was just trying to—Ugh, stop!" She grabbed him by the arm as she snapped at him, and turned him bodily to face her. "Look," she said, blue eyes dark in the pale day's light as she glared up at him, "I'm not really good at being comforting and whatever, but I was just trying to help."

"I don't need your pity," he replied venomously.

"Good, because I wasn't offering any, you dumb bastard!" He fell silent, fighting the urge to laugh in her face. How long had it been since anybody had talked to him like that without regretting it later? "I was just trying to be understanding, because if I lost _my_ bending, I would hope that somebody would care enough to do the same for me," _I'm sorry Amon took your bending,_ "but if you'd rather be alone and miserable, then go ahead. Naga! Ugh, don't eat the tray! Come here." The beast dropped the tray that had previously held his food, and came galumphing over. He watched the Avatar swing up into the saddle, and bit back the ridiculous urge to somehow stop her from leaving.

_She doesn't know what she's talking about_, he thought as he watched her ride off. How could she know what someone would want after losing their bending? She'd never felt that sort of pain, the kind that haunted him every day of his life. A part of him was _gone_, and he would never get it back. _Stupid girl,_ he thought with a sneer,_ You know nothing_.

By the time he made it back to his apartment building he was wondering if maybe he wasn't the stupid one. Korra might not know what it felt like, but she hadn't been trying to antagonize him purposely. Hadn't that look in her eyes been genuine concern? It was hard for him to separate that aspect of her from the way she had looked at him before, and that was with blatant contempt. _That was also back when I was being an asshole_. Not that those days were entirely over.

As he pulled out his keys, he was reminded of how very alone he now was. Not too long ago it was a rare day that he was home before midnight, or that he was going home by himself. _What's wrong with me?_, he wondered. Then he laughed again, because honestly what _wasn't_ wrong with him? The sound was shrill in his ears, and just short of hysterical. _I'm a bender who can't bend. I'm incapable of having a simple conversation. Shit, I couldn't even put myself out of my misery_. He pushed open his door, laughing harder and harder, _And now my neighbors are going to think I'm nuts_. He didn't care, though. It didn't matter.

In Tahno's life, there was very little that did matter anymore.

* * *

Mako and Asami were being unbearable again. _I should be used to it by now_, Korra thought as she watched them walking in front of her, their hands clasped tightly together, swinging between them. _Swinging_, and they kept making googly eyes at each other, until she was just about ready to gag. And she couldn't exactly express her disgust to Bolin—Mako's younger brother knew all too well how she felt about the firebender, but he didn't share her opinions on all this lovey-dovey fluff. He was strolling along beside her, oblivious to the goings on in front of them, perhaps too busy following his nose to pay much attention. He stopped to examine a stall selling dumplings, perusing the selection with a serious expression and speaking to the vendor with an air of someone about to make a life-changing purchase.

She wondered again how they had managed to talk her into going on this outing. "We need to have some fun," Bolin had said, apparently forgetting about what had happened the last time he talked her into going out to have fun. She doubted that this excursion would end in her kissing Mako again, though. After exposing Hiroshi as an Equalist, he and Asami had somehow been spending more time together than ever before. Korra got that Asami needed comforting, but did they have to be so..._cutesy_? She scoffed and turned away as the young heiress stood on her toes to give Mako a peck on the cheek, pushing away the tinges of jealousy and hurt.

The streets of Republic City were teeming with life that sunny afternoon. To be out there in the market district, watching people going about their lives, you might not have been able to believe that a war was brewing. During the day the Equalists tended to be more low-key, and the benders of Republic City felt safe, but it was a false sense of security and she knew it. _I'm the Avatar. It's my duty to remember the things everyone else wants to forget_. Every so often somebody would walk past her and do a double take as they realized they were seeing the Avatar—sometimes Korra found it amusing, and didn't mind stopping and chatting with those bold enough to approach her. That day she had no patience for it. Between Mako and Asami, and Tarrlok and Amon, she just couldn't handle the gawking.

"Korra!" Bolin said, running to catch up to her with a bag of dumplings in one hand, and a half-eaten one in the other, "You wan' a dumfring?" he asked around a mouthful of food. She managed a grin, but found she wasn't really all that hungry.

"No thanks," she said, "I actually think I'm gonna head back to the island."

"What?" the earthbender protested, swallowing his monster mouthful, "Why?"

"I'm not feeling too hot," she said, and it wasn't a lie. There was a dull throb starting somewhere just behind her eyeballs, and she was more than ready to lock herself in her room and spend some time brooding in the dark.

"Oh no, that's a bummer!" Bolin said sympathetically, "You should definitely go home and rest, or else, y'know, you'll be totally zombied out on patrol tonight."

"Right," Korra agreed without enthusiasm, "Patrol." True, they had cleaned some Equalist clocks the night before, but she wasn't sure that she was up for it tonight. _Maybe I just need a little pick-me-up_. Normally that would constitute sparring with the airbender kids, or wrestling with Naga, but all she really wanted now was to be alone. "Can you tell Mako and Asami for me?" she asked, "I wouldn't want to rain on their parade." There must have been a bitter note to her words, because Bolin looked momentarily taken aback, but he agreed nonetheless.

It was a warm day, and the streets were wet with snow-melt. She could feel the sun on her face, the heat calling out to her. Water splashed over her toes as she stepped in a shallow puddle, and she felt the way it sloshed and rippled around her foot. Before, she hadn't really noticed the way the elements were always speaking to her, but of late she'd become more aware of the sensations she'd once taken for granted. _I could lose it all_, she often thought. Sure, she'd been attacked by chi-blockers, and her bending had been momentarily unavailable to her, but that was different. It was unthinkable to her that in an instant somebody could just take it all away from her for good.

Korra watched her feet as she walked, in an attempt to avoid eye contact with any would-be chit-chatters. _Just let me get back without anything else ridiculous happening_. As if the universe knew what was or her mind and decided that she needed just a little bit more stress in her life, it sent somebody knocking into her right arm. The impact was so jarring that it spun her around, and the man who ran into her dropped the bag that he'd been carrying, spilling its contents across the sidewalk.

"Oh, I'm so sor—," she stopped abruptly, mid-apology, jaw setting in consternation when she saw who it was that she'd bumped into. _Oh, good grief_.

"Korra," Tahno said, tone and expression flat. She opened her mouth to say something snarky, but the insult died on her tongue. Seeing him up close, in broad daylight, she realized he looked worse than ever. His hair was flat and stringy, eyes dull, cheeks hollow, and clothing rumpled, as if he'd been living and sleeping in the same outfit for days. For a half-second she almost asked if he was alright, but then she remembered what had happened the last time she'd asked him how he was, and decided against that as well. Feeling chagrined without even having opened her mouth, she let her eyes drop from his, and they fell inadvertently on one of the things that had spilled out of his bag; small prescription bottle, chock full of pills. _Oh_.

With surprising quickness, he knelt and began picking up his things. Without thinking she joined him, reaching first for the bottle of pills. As her hand closed around it, his snaked out and wrenched it away from her. "Tahno...," she tried to say.

"I haven't been sleeping," he said, brusquely, by way of explanation.

"I'm sorry," she said, wincing inwardly. She felt like all she did was apologize to the guy, when he was the one being a jerk.

As if he knew what she was thinking, he stood, leaving most of his belongings strewn on the ground. "Stop saying that," he said, now sounding irritable, which she guessed was a step up from completely toneless.

She straightened as well, and for a minute they just stood there, avoiding each other's gaze. Finally she said, "Look, about the other day—,"

"Don't worry about it," he interjected. She managed to look him in the eye then, and saw that he looked almost grudgingly apologetic. That surprised her more than anything. Struck by inspiration, she bent again and started gathering up the rest of his things. _Not much food_, she thought, but he had books, a few forty-fives, and the newspaper.

"Fine. But at least let me help you carry all this stuff home," she said. For a second he scowled, as if he might argue, but then a look of tired defeat flashed across his features and he only shrugged.

"Whatever," he answered. He didn't have so much to carry that it took two people, but she just had a feeling that this was important.

The walk to his apartment building was a short one. He lived right in the middle of downtown, where the streets were lined with elegant high-rise apartment buildings. She knew she shouldn't have been surprised to find out that he lived in a building with a flashy marble lobby and a courteous doorman, but it did throw her off for a moment or two. _Of course he can afford to live in a place like this_, she thought as she gazed around the foyer, lavishly decorated with expensive looking sofas, gilded mirrors, and exotic fauna, _he cheated his way through four pro-bending championships_.

"You gonna stand there gawking all day, Ah-vatar?" Tahno said from where he'd been watching her, by the lift. There was the ghost of a smirk on his lips, so she felt completely justified making a rude gesture at him.

The elevator creaked and rattled as it pulled them upwards through the building. Korra had only been in one a few times before, and she felt the need to ask, "Are you sure this is safe?" She could only imagine the headline in the papers the day after the Avatar was killed in a tragic elevator accident.

"Don't worry," Tahno replied, "it hardly ever sends people plummeting to their deaths."

"Next time I'm taking the stairs."

"You could always just airbend yourself to the floor you need. Or have you still not figured out how to do that, _Ah-vatar_?"

"Bite me." After that they were silent until they reached his apartment. Korra was glad to be free of the elevator, and she hovered behind him as he pulled he unlocked the door. Without waiting to be invited, she slipped in behind, and stepped around him.

"Yeah, just come right in," he scoffed as she took a few steps into his apartment. Despite the sunny day outside, it was almost completely dark in there. She could hardly see, but he brushed past her and slouched off through the nearest doorway, and she quickly followed.

The room they were in turned out to be the kitchen, and it was just as over-the-top fancy as she'd been expecting it to be. _Who really needs a chandelier in their kitchen?_, she thought as she set his things down on the table. At least he turned the lights on, making it easier to see what she was doing. Of course, it also made it easier to see how he had been living lately. The place was a mess; there were dishes in the sink and on the table, and newspapers scattered everywhere.

"Sorry about the mess," he said, though she didn't think he sounded very sorry at all.

"What mess?" she replied, arching an eyebrow at him.

Again, he just-barely grinned, but then his expression turned flat again a moment later. "Stay here. I'll be right back," he said, before slipping out of the room. Curious, she took a few steps after him, but she couldn't see a thing down the hallway he'd disappeared into, and to be frank, she wasn't really sure she wanted to see the rest of his apartment. So rather than exploring further, she stepped back over to the table and reached for the nearest section of newspaper. _Equalists Strike at Bending Dojo_, the headline read. She remembered hearing about that, but it had happened weeks ago. _Chi-blockers Arrested in Dragon Flats Raid_. She saw herself in the black and white photograph, and began to leaf through the other papers. Everyone was turned and folded to an article on Equalists, Amon, or chi-blockers. There was a discarded, crumpled pile in the corner of the room, which she guessed didn't contain any of the above.

_Somebody's obsessed_, she thought, though she couldn't exactly blame him. Then she took a look at the books she'd been carrying. _Pressure Points and Non-bending Martial Arts_, read the one on the top of the pile. She reached for it, and opened to a random page. There was a diagram there, of an arm, listing each and every pressure point one would have to hit in order to block the flow of chi.

She heard footsteps behind her, and turned, holding the book out, expression accusatory, "What's this?" she demanded.

His eyes shifted from the proffered book up to meet her own, and he shrugged, like it was no big deal, "I can't bend anymore. I have to come up with some way to defend myself, right?"

"So you're gonna use the techniques of the people who are trying to get rid of us?" she said with disbelief.

"Why not? Seems to work for them," he answered as he stepped over to the stove, "You want tea?"

"Tahno," she said, tone commanding, "There's something you're not telling me. What is it?"

Back turned to her, he seemed to deflate, sighing as his shoulders sagged, "I really don't see how it's any of your business."

"I'm the Avatar. Everything is my business. Now spill it," she said, slapping his book down on the table, so that the sound echoed through the room.

"Well, that's certainly diplomatic of you," he said bitterly, "Fine. If you must know, I've had an epiphany."

"And what's that?" she asked, pulling out a chair. She had the feeling that this was going to take a while.

"That day you saw me on the bridge, I was going to throw myself off of it," he started matter-of-factly, because clearly he wanted to ease her into it gently, "but I wussed out, so I came home after our little chat and had a mental breakdown." As he spoke he reached for the teapot, and filled it with water. Korra, for her part, was stunned into silence. _I didn't know_, she thought, _I had no idea_. "When I came to my senses and realized how utterly useless I was being, I made a decision."

"To do what?" asked the Avatar, surprised at how small her voice sounded.

"To fight back," he said, "I'm not just gonna roll over and take things as they are. Even if I can't get to Amon and kick his ass into next week, I'm going to personally make his life a living hell. I'll do whatever I have to. I'll even join your little gang if you want. Pick your jaw up off the floor, Ah-vatar, you look ridiculous. Now did you want tea, or not?"

x

**Huh. That's literally not at all how I planned this chapter. Oh, well. I enjoyed it. **

**Oh, and just so we're on the same page, it's "Re-bel" the verb, not "Reb-el" the noun. Isn't it great how I waited til the end of the chapter to tell you that?**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm planning on most of this story happening after "Endgame." I really only want to write one or two more chapters about stuff that happened before then, because I feel like I'm just rewriting what already happened, which is also what everyone else writes about orz. **

**Also, I wasn't even going to finish writing this chapter today, but I got another review and it was like snorting inspiration crack, so here you go!  
**

**I'm so good at analogies.  
**

**P.S. It took me way too long to make that cover for it to turn out the way that it turned out.  
**

Chapter Two

The moon hung low in the sky, casting deep shadows on the streets and alleyways of Republic City. Korra yawned widely as Asami's Satomobile rumbled down a particularly deserted avenue—it seemed that tonight the Equalists had better things to do than terrorize the city, because they hadn't heard a peep from the police scanner in hours.

"It's almost three in the morning," Bolin yawned in imitation of the Avatar, slouching down sleepily in his seat. "Nothing's going on. I say we head back."

"Let's give it another hour," Mako argued, though without much conviction. The four teenagers had been out all night, cruising the streets in search of Equalists to take down. So far, no opportunities had presented themselves. The only thing interesting that had crackled over the scanner had been a report of a drunken, naked man running around underneath Harmony Tower, but none of them had been willing to tackle that problem.

"Maybe Bolin's right," Asami said, rubbing a hand across her eyes as they came to a stop at a red light, apparently no longer caring if she smudged her perfectly applied make-up.

"What do you think, Korra?" Mako asked, twisting around in the front seat to look back at her. Korra didn't miss how Asami stiffed slightly at the wheel—after Ikki had blabbed to her that the Avatar liked Mako the heiress had been ever so slightly standoffish—but she pretended that she had.

"I vote for heading home," she said, "but leave the radio on, in case anything goes down on the way back to the ferry." Bolin stretched in the seat next to her, arms straight up in the air, before his body sagged and his head flopped to the side, apparently asleep. _That was quick_, Korra thought with a smirk. For her part, she leaned her head back and watched the buildings sweeping by above them, the stars invisible beyond the lights of the city. That was one thing she missed about living in the South Pole; _I could always see the stars back home_.

As they sped through the maze of city streets, back toward the ferry that would return them to Air Temple Island, she allowed her eyes to drift shut. It wasn't her intention to drift off, but she could feel her mind growing fuzzy, and her thoughts growing increasingly nonsensical. In her mind she _could_ see the stars, and they were growing brighter and brighter by the second, bearing down on her until she couldn't see anything but their blinding light.

A buzzing, crackling sound snapped her back to reality, and she sat up straight in her seat, expecting to see bright moats floating in her eyes, but there were none. "Wha's happening?" Bolin asked sleepily, sitting up too fast and nearly knocking his head against the front seat.

"Attention all units," the cool tones of a female dispatcher spoke over the radio, "Equalist activity has been reported in the Red River Warehouse District. I repeat, all available units, please respond." Without warning, Asami spun the wheel and they were all thrown to the left, scrambling for something to grab onto so that they didn't end up flying out of the car.

"Take it easy!" Bolin cried as she pointed the Satomobile due south and slammed on the gas.

"We're only a few minutes away from there!" she argued, tires screeching below as they shot off toward the warehouses, "We have to get there before they know the cops are on their way!" Korra couldn't fault her logic. Instead, she gripped the seat in front of her, leaning forward, all traces of sleepiness washed away by the adrenaline that now pumped through her veins.

All too soon the residential area of the city had receded behind them, and they were surrounded by the dark, imposing structures of Republic City's warehouse district. "Slow down," Korra said, rising up in her seat as Asami acquiesced. There weren't any lights shining here, that was for sure. Only the car's headlights illuminated the way ahead, giving rise to deep, impenetrable shadows. The moon shone dimly above as well, but that was from behind a swath of clouds that were creeping in across the sky.

"Yeah, mm-hm, this isn't sketchy at all," Bolin said, twisting around in his seat to watch the inky blackness of the road receding behind them. After a few turns in, even the lights from the city couldn't reach them.

"I'm gonna kill the lights and park it," Asami said, "We're sticking out like a sore thumb." She pulled the car tight up against a wall where it wouldn't be so obviously out of place, and Team Avatar piled out.

"Should we split up?" Bolin asked, cracking his knuckles as he surveyed the scene with his usual optimism.

"Good idea," Mako said, slapping his brother on the shoulder, "You and me, and Korra and Asami. That way we'll be able to signal each other with fire if we find anything. Sound good?" he asked. Admittedly, Korra wasn't too keen on having to go Equalist hunting alone with Asami, but she couldn't think of a good enough lie to get Mako to switch with her.

"We'll head east," she said by way of agreement. Without waiting for Asami, or wishes of good luck, she turned on her heel and headed off into the darkness. Korra heard the heiress hurrying to catch up, feet slapping on the pavement in her haste. The Avatar half-expected her to take the opportunity to say something—to ask about her feelings for Mako, or make some sort of half-hearted attempt to buddy-up to her. But Asami said nothing, and she wasn't sure if she was grateful for that or not.

Once her eyes had adjusted to the darkness it wasn't that difficult to see where they were going. "It's so quiet. Why don't I hear sirens yet?" she asked after a few long, silent minutes.

"I dunno," Asami answered, tone tense, "but I don't like it." Korra made a noise of agreement, and they moved on cautiously. It _was_ eerily noiseless, and that combined with the darkness made the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. She was tempted to create a fireball to light the way, but then they would be faced with the same problem that the car created. _Might as well stick a target on our backs_, she thought.

Wordlessly, the two girls continued their search, wandering the labyrinthine warehouse district. They reached the quays, where the ocean water lapped against the docks far below, and hulking cargo ships loomed above. The creaking sounds they made, coupled with the water, drowned out any suspicious noises they might have heard. "This is starting to seem pointless," Korra said once they had been at it for at least half-an-hour, stopping as cold wind picked up, gusting around them. "We can't see anything, and now we can't hear anything either." Truthfully, she was beginning to feel more annoyed than anxious, and she was wondering if they had been too late, or perhaps just weren't in the right place.

"Maybe we should head back and find the guys," Asami agreed with a sigh, "We can at least get back to the island before the sun comes up." The words had no sooner left her lips than the fireball shot up into the sky. _Mako_, Korra thought, heart in her throat. She didn't remember deciding to move, but somehow she was in a mad dash, racing between buildings, trying to remember the fireball's position as she sprinted back toward the warehouses.

"Korra!" she heard Asami shout from behind her, but she couldn't stop. It could have just been Mako signaling for them to return because this search was a dead end, but somehow she knew that it wasn't.

It felt like forever before she finally saw the light of flame illuminating an alleyway ahead. With a cry of rage she threw herself around the corner, and into the back of green-uniformed Equalist, knocking him to the ground. He yelped in surprise and pain, but she was on her feet and throwing fire before his companions could react to her arrival. Immediately she saw that the alley they were in was a dead-end—a high fence topped with barbed wire rose between two buildings, effectively trapping Mako and Bolin while the chi-blockers advanced.

Bolin whooped when he saw her, and the Equalists seemed to hesitate before two of them broke off and came dashing in her direction. Undaunted, Korra stood her ground, stomping a foot into the concrete and heaving her fists into the air—at her call a wall of earth rose from the ground, driving into one of the chi-blocker's chests and flinging her backward. The other kept coming, leaping easily over the protruding segment of earth, a bolas swinging in his hand as he readied his attack.

Korra bared her teeth in a silent snarl, and cocked her fist back, planning to launch the bastard into the sky with a rocket of flame. Before she could make a move a shadow fell over them, and she looked up just in time to see Asami dropping down from the low roof like some elegant bird of prey. She slammed into the Equalist, bringing him to the ground in a flurry of lightning. Korra stood there for a moment, dumbfounded, until Asami shouted at her to come on.

There were only three of Amon's lackeys left by then, and when they saw that they were now outmatched one of them pulled off his mask and begged for them not to hurt him, and the others surrendered with a bit more dignity. By the time the cops arrived, the one who had given up first had told them everything—that this wasn't a trap laid by Amon, but one concocted by a few lower ranking Equalists who wanted to make a name for themselves. "We staged the call," he blubbered, in between pleading with them not to send him to jail, "We had to wait until you drove by our transmitter. Please, I only joined the Equalists because I wanted to learn to fight! I didn't mean for it to go this far!"

"Tough luck, pal," Bolin said, folding his arms across his chest and nodding sagely.

Korra turned to Mako, who was bent over one of the chi-blockers, tying off the restraints around his wrists. She bit her lip and stepped toward him, the words on her tongue, but Asami beat her to it. "I'm so glad you're okay," the heiress said as he stood, and they embraced, murmuring words of relief.

"Here come the cops," Mako said as the beams of flashlights danced along the walls. Sirens finally sang in the distance, but there was no room to drive in the tight spaces between buildings, here.

"We should get going," Korra said, feeling tired all over again. Now that the rush of fear had worn off—replaced by frustration and disappointment—she was almost too exhausted to walk back to the car, but she managed. She just counted herself lucky that none of her friends wanted to stick around to wait for the press to show up this time. They were all longing for a well-earned rest.

It took an hour to get home, and while it would still be mostly dark out for some time yet, the night sky had begun to grey. Naga was asleep on her bedroom floor, but the polar-bear dog jumped to her feet when Korra walked through the door. "Hey girl," she said, voice thick with sleep, "Lay down, okay? I had a long night." _And I'm going to have another tonight_, she thought. Perhaps if she slept well enough it wouldn't be as trying as this night had been.

When she was finally dressed for bed, and curled up under the covers, she found herself thinking of her friends in a fuzzy, disjointed way. The fear she had felt when she knew Mako and Bolin were in trouble had been almost painful—she didn't know what she'd do if either of them were caught by Equalists again. _Probably tear the city apart looking for them_. And Asami wasn't without her own problems. She had to worry about her father trying to get ahold of her, and her boyfriend._ It's up to me to keep them all safe_, she thought, _I can't let Amon take them from me_.

Unbidden, an image of Tahno arose in her mind, dragging her tired mind back to the realm of the waking, and bringing with it a wash of guilt. She had tried, but maybe not as hard as she could have, to broach the subject of bringing him along on their patrols to her friends. "I ran into Tahno today," she'd said. Mako had immediately scoffed dismissively, Bolin had looked uncomfortable, and Asami pursed her lips. It was as if they all only remembered Tahno the Wolfbat, the unrelenting jackass of a cheating pro-bender. She was reminded then that none of them had seen him since the championship—they knew he had lost his bending, but they hadn't seen how it had changed him.

Too vividly she recalled sitting in his kitchen the previous afternoon. He'd made her tea, and it had been pretty damn good tea, though she barely drank any of it. She'd been too busy staring incredulously at him as he flipped through his chi-blocking book. "See here?" he'd said, pointing to one of the diagrams, and explaining in better detail than anyone had before how quick jabs to certain pressure points on the body temporarily numbed the flow of chi, effectively stopping a person from being able to bend. He'd said it all with the air of someone discussing the weather, as if his life hadn't just very recently and radically been turned upside down.

Weirder still, he'd been astonishingly courteous and pleasant. Sure, he still made a few, almost casual snarky remarks, but the whole experience had completely thrown her for a loop. Perhaps the atmosphere between them hadn't been quite as contentious simply because she'd been so taken aback by the whole event.

_I should have called him_, she thought. She had said she would, to let him know if he would be coming on patrol with them or not. After failing to even manage to suggest bringing him, though, she hadn't been able to bring herself to pick up the phone. His phone number was crumpled up on a piece of paper, still in her pocket. She hadn't meant to just blow him off like that, but as the day had progressed, the whole incident took on a feeling of unreality, as if she had simply gauged everything that had been said and done incorrectly. Maybe he hadn't been as nice to her as she had thought, and maybe he was simply being sarcastic when he said he'd join Team Avatar.

_He gave me his phone number, though_. She hadn't even asked for it. He'd just torn a strip off a newspaper page, scrawled the numbers across it and handed it to her. _I'm such an idiot_, she thought, and she was so furious at herself in that moment that she almost climbed out of bed and ran down the hall to call him right then and there. But it was still dark out when she looked out her window, and she fell back onto her pillow with a sigh. He had probably gone to bed hours ago, and as he'd been having trouble sleeping, he would no doubt not appreciate her waking him up.

"When I get up," she said aloud, so that Naga snuffled in the dark next to her. She reached out and felt for the polar-bear dog, her fingers landing on her friend's soft, smoothly furred head. "You hold me to it, Naga. I'll call him when I get up."

* * *

"You never called me." Tahno didn't bother pretending not to be amused by the way the Avatar startled at the sound of his voice. She hadn't noticed his approach because she'd been sitting with her back to the opening of the gazebo, with the radio blasting nearby while she meditated. Anybody could have crept up behind her, like a marching band, or Amon, or a rampaging rhino. "Are you always this oblivious?" he asked as she twisted around to glare at him.

He watched as she leaned toward the radio on all fours to turn the volume knob, before getting to her feet. She combed a few loose hairs back behind an ear, with an almost pouting look on her face. It took him a moment to realize that she was embarrassed. Not foot-in-her-mouth embarrassed, like usual—this seemed more like regret. "Yeah," she finally answered, "Sorry about that. I got…busy."

"I heard," he answered dryly, "Did you at least have fun getting ambushed without me last night?"

"Look, I meant to call you, I just—,"

"Were busy. Yeah, you said that already." He waved his hands defensively when she shot him a glare, and said, "Look, I get it. Your little Ferret Friends didn't want me to come along, is that it?"

"…Something like that," she admitted, looking at the ground with something akin to guilt.

Tahno shrugged, like it didn't bother him, "I figured. No big deal." In truth, he'd been expecting it, but it still rankled. That firebender and his idiot brother had been a thorn in his side more than once before Korra came on the scene. He'd thought beating them in the championship would be the ultimate punishment for their insolence. Of course, he'd learned fairly quickly that there were worse things that could happen to a person than losing a stupid game.

"Did you come all the way out here to ask me about why I didn't call you, or was there something else you wanted to rub in my face?" Korra asked, breaking him out of his irritated reverie.

"No, just that. For now, at least," he replied after pretending to mull it over for a moment. She scoffed, and shoved his shoulder as she came down the steps before sweeping past him.

"You can stay for lunch if you want," she called nonchalantly over her shoulder, "Pema's making seaweed soup." Tahno hadn't eaten any real food in what felt like months, not that his appetite hadn't been lacking lately anyway. But he supposed he couldn't turn her down, not after he'd come all this way to yell at her. He surprised himself with the realization that he'd forgotten all about his plans to chew her out for her silence almost as soon as he'd laid eyes on her. _It was easier just to make fun of her_, he thought, and it was true; she didn't exactly make herself that difficult a target.

"So, where is the rest of the _esteemed_ Team Avatar?" Tahno asked as she showed him into the main living quarters of the temple.

"Probably still asleep," Korra said, "It was a long night."

"I wouldn't have taken you for the early riser of the group."

"What can I say? I'm a go-getter." She belied herself by yawning widely as they entered the kitchen, where an enormous pot of soup sat bubbling on the stove. Several of the air acolytes were bustling about, washing dishes and putting things in order, seemingly at the direction of an extremely pregnant woman, but they paused when the Avatar entered the room.

"Korra," the pregnant woman, who must have been "Pema," said as she turned to greet them, her pleasant expression faltering when she saw who she was with, "and a friend?"

"Tahno," he said, stepping forward smoothly and taking her half-extended hand, "A pleasure." Hell, he could be charming when he wanted to be.

"Yes, _ahem_, I'm Pema. Korra didn't tell me she was having guests," she responded, shooting Korra a hilariously confused look.

"Korra doesn't tell a lot of people all sorts of things," he said with his most disarming grin, ignoring the death glare the Avatar was sending his way.

"Uh-huh," Pema said slowly, looking back and forth between them as if she didn't quite know what to make of them, "Well, you're welcome to stay for lunch. Would you like to eat in the dining hall with us?"

"I think we'll just eat outside," Korra interjected before Tahno could say anything. She hurriedly set about preparing a tray to take outside with them, while he stood back watching with a baldly amused expression. "You could offer to help me carry stuff, you know," she huffed at him once they were back in the hall.

"I'm the guest. Don't you know anything about etiquette, Ah-vatar?"

"No, but I know all about how to tell when someone's a complete _ass-hat_."

"Oh, that hurts my feelings, _Ah_-vatar. Not very courteous. I'm afraid I'm going to have to tell your mother-hen that you're not being nice to me."

"You know what Tahno?" she sneered, leaning in close as she lowered her voice to a hiss, "_Go fuck yourself_." He couldn't help himself. He nearly doubled over laughing as he followed her back out into the bright, early afternoon sunshine.

A ways away from the main building there was a small, half-enclosed space where the airbenders had handily placed a picnic table where the Avatar set down her heavy tray. As if on cue, Korra's beast of a dog made an appearance, nose in the air as it came around a corner. The animal cocked its head when it saw him, and he wondered if that was the reaction he was going to get from everybody today.

"Can you tell your dog to stop staring at me? It's freaking me out," he said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the creature as it laid down next to the table, eyes trained on him as he reached for one of the covered bowls.

"Aw, but she likes you," Korra replied, grinning down at her pet, "Right, Naga? Why don't you give Tahno a kiss?"

"Why don't you not, please and thank you. The last thing I need is dog slobber in my hair."

"Why not? I bet it'll look better than that goofy-ass hairdo you used to have."

"I'm sorry, but that's called _style_, Ah-vatar. Maybe I could give you some pointers."

"Maybe I could kick your ass off my island, too."

"You're so subtle, Korra. You should try to make your point clearer if you want people to understand how you feel about them."

"How about this: I hate you."

"See, there you go. Was that so hard?"

"Does it give you some kind of sick, twisted pleasure to be such a jerk?"

"Yes, yes it does." He realized that was at least partly true as he said it, even though he spoke in jest. It was fun exchanging jabs with somebody who didn't feel the need to ask him how he was doing, or look at him like he was some poor, lost soul, and fun for him was in extremely short supply these days. "So, aside from almost being kidnapped, how was your patrol last night?" he asked after a lull in their exchange of insults. To be honest, he was beyond curious. Another part of the reason he'd come out here was to try and get more information on the Equalists from the most direct source he had access to.

Korra sighed, and set down the bowl of soup she'd been sucking down. "Honestly, it sucked. We drove around most of the night without a damn thing happening, then when it did I got stuck walking around the warehouse district with Asami."

"So?"

"So, she's—," Korra huffed, and looked around as if worried somebody might be eavesdropping, then she leaned forward conspiratorially, "She knows I like Mako, and she's been all snarky about it since she found out. I mean, I like her and all, but it's just been…weird."

Tahno stared at her for about five seconds before he started laughing again, covering his face with his hands as he sniggered uncontrollably at her expense. She made an offended noise, and demanded to know just what exactly was so funny, "I'm sorry," he said, though he wasn't, "It's just—we're fighting a war, and—you're worried about dumb shit like that—It's too fucking funny!" Now he threw his head back, and he almost tipped backward off the bench, ignoring the way she scowled at him. Then she did something he hadn't been expecting—she started laughing too.

She put her hands over her eyes and bowed over the table, and they both laughed until they were out of breath. "Oh my goodness," she breathed, "I haven't laughed that hard in forever. It wasn't even that funny."

"Of course it was," Tahno argued.

"Maybe you're right," she agreed, "It's just…maybe not as serious as I'm making it out to be. They're both my friends, and I shouldn't be worrying about something like that with everything else that's going on." He wasn't sure if he was more surprised that she was agreeing with him, or that she wasn't furious at him for pointing it out. They finished eating in silence, though it wasn't as awkward as it had been the past few times they'd been in each other's company.

"So," she said once they were done, piling their dishes back on the tray while her dog whined piteously for scraps, "How's the…chi-blocking coming along?" The pause was almost too short to be noticeable, but he picked up on it nonetheless. Clearly the idea still made her uncomfortable.

"I could show you if you like," he said, standing up to help her without thinking.

"Show me?"

"Yeah. It'll be fun."

"I doubt that," she said with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Ten minutes later they were back in the yard, in a wide open area where the airbenders trained. "Stand with your arms held straight out to the side," he instructed, "And don't flinch, or you'll mess it up."

"I don't think this is a very good idea," Korra responded flatly, doing as he said nonetheless.

"Relax. I've been doing this on my own against a training dummy in my living room. It'll be easier with a human subject. I think."

"You _think?"_

"Shh. Stay still," he hushed, dropping into the stance from his book.

"Tahno, I really don't think—ow!" she yelped as his fist darted out, catching her in a spot just above her elbow. Her arm dropped as she lost feeling in it, and her other hand came up to cradle the spot. "You said you wouldn't do it that hard!" she snapped.

"I lied," he said with a shrug.

"You're a bastard!" She kicked out, trying to catch him in the shin, but he easily dodged backward.

"And you're clumsy. See, we both have flaws." With a snarl, she leapt at him, which was exactly what he'd been hoping for. He spun to the side as fire blazed through the spot where his head had been just a second before, and jabbed, just behind her shoulder. She kicked out again, backward, nearly catching him in the stomach, but her temper made her sloppy.

"I'm gonna strangle you!" she fairly screeched, bringing both her arms up as she rounded on him.

"You're certainly welcome to try."

She lunged, and he made to dodge to the side, but this time his escape was hampered by a something large, white, and furry. The Avatar made a noise of triumph as she grabbed him by the collar and pulled him close, "Got you, you sneaky—,"

"Korra, what the hell are you doing?" an incredulous voice asked from somewhere to the left. They both froze, and Korra peeked to the side with a look on her face as if she'd been caught doing something wrong. According to the firebender, she probably had.

"Mako," she said, releasing the iron grip she'd had on his collar. He stood up straight and smoothed down his coat, ignoring the dog as it sniffed around the back of his head. "I was just training," she said, tone suddenly defensive as she placed her hands on her hips. _Uh-oh_, Tahno thought, again not bothering to fight off a grin, _Lover's quarrel_.

"Yeah, I saw that," answered her would-be boyfriend, narrowing his eyes as his heated gaze turned on Tahno, who only grinned more widely. "Why is _he_ here?"

"He came to talk to me," Korra answered.

"What could he possibly have to say to you?"

"Well, since _he's_ standing right here, you could just ask _him_," Tahno interjected, earning scowls from both of them. "What? It was me you were talking about, right?"

Korra gave him a withering glare, before turning her attention back to Mako, "Tahno wants to come with us on patrol."

Mako cocked an eyebrow at her, his expression suggesting he thought she'd lost her mind. "No way," he snorted, more of an expression of disbelief than denial.

"It's true," Tahno said, "I even asked nicely. Sort of."

"But…," Mako struggled, at a loss for words, "He can't even bend anymore, Korra. What is he going to do?" _Ouch_, Tahno thought. Coming from someone he didn't like and who he also considered to be a moron, it didn't make him as furious as it normally would have.

Korra on the other hand, blew a gasket. "What's wrong with you, Mako?! Why the hell would you say something like that? I mean, are you blind? Did you not just see what we were doing?!" she fumed, fists clenching and unclenching. Tahno had a feeling that if her bending wasn't temporarily numbed then she would have thrown a fireball right in his bewildered face.

Before the firebender could respond, she turned on her heel and grabbed Tahno by the arm, dragging him away from the scene. He decided it was better not to say anything for the moment, lest she bite his head off as well. Also probably best not to mention that she wasn't exactly tactful about bringing up the loss of his bending at first either. Not that he could have thought of anything to say even if he wanted to—he honestly didn't know how to react to what had just happened other than to let her pull him along to wherever it was they were going.

As it so happened, she brought him to her room, slamming the door shut so that the rice paper rattled in its panes. Her dog had followed them up to that point, but there wasn't enough room in there for all three of them to move about comfortably, so the beast had to remain outside. Korra paced toward the other side of the room, and he watched her as she made an exasperated noise before dropping down onto her bed.

"I'm sorry," she said after a long, tense silence.

"Why?" he asked.

"For Mako. I didn't…I should have asked them yesterday."

"I thought you said you did."

She bit her lip, and pressed a hand to her forehead with a chagrined expression, as if she'd forgotten already. "_Ugh_, I meant to. I really did, but when I tried to bring it up they just shut me down. I'm sorry, Tahno. Really."

Pursing his lips, he moved across the room and eased himself down next to her, picking his next words carefully. He didn't want to get on her bad side now, even if she had lied to him. "Don't worry about it. I should have known they wouldn't be thrilled with the idea."

"It's not fair, though. You're _not_…You're not that horrible a person."

"Thanks for lying, but you don't have to try to flatter me."

She snorted, and elbowed him lightly. "Shut up," she said, then she blew out heavily through her lips, so that her bangs stirred, the hairs swaying as she stood and stretched, "Look, I'll try again tonight."

"You promise?"

"_Yes_, I promise."

"Seal it with a kiss?"

_"Ugh!_ Get out of my room, you creep!"

* * *

**Omfg, I love writing sassy banter so much it's not even funny. **

**I was listening to my Beyoncé playlist the whole time I was writing Tahno's part, as if that's at all relevant to anything. **

**Bootylicious. **


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm not gonna lie. This is an all Tahno chapter. Prepare yourself. **

**Also, I may or may not have changed my mind about how this story is gonna play out. I do that sometimes. I'm also screwing with the time line a bit, which I'm sure you've all noticed. **

**And lastly, thanks for all the follows and reviews you've given so far. I hope you'll stick it out until the end ;)**

Chapter Three

The sun was well on its way to setting by the time Tahno got off of that island. Like the day outside, his mood began to darken as he stepped off the ferry and back into the real world. How had he managed to waste a whole day arguing back and forth with the Avatar? Not that he had anything else better to do besides skulk around his living room and try to chart the locations of Equalist hideouts around the city. The map hung on his wall was one thing he was glad Korra hadn't seen—there were marks all over it, various addresses and potential locations where they might be hiding, or where they had struck.

He wasn't so self-deluded that he didn't realize he was obsessing over this. But what else was he supposed to do?

That morning he'd dragged himself out of bed after a night's fitful sleep, irrationally furious over being lied to and ignored. His anger unabated, he'd showered and dressed in the last clean outfit he owned—there was no way he was going to go confront the Avatar looking like a slovenly wreck of a human being. He'd had an entire haranguing prepared, but the words had died on his tongue when he saw her sitting there, totally unaware of his presence. He wasn't sure why, but he'd just stood there watching her for a minute or two, maybe waiting to see if she'd sense his presence and turn around to see who was there.

When she didn't, he'd decided it would be funny to scare her. Funnier if she didn't shoot fire at his head, which thankfully she hadn't. He'd combed all the tangles out of his hair that morning, and he wasn't interested in having it all scorched off.

The ferry docks were crowded with people coming from various banks of Yue Bay, and Tahno found himself jostled left and right as the crowds shifted toward the trolleys, or cabs, or the adjacent parking lot. Nobody seemed to recognize him, or pay him any mind at all. He wasn't sure if he preferred that over the stares. After all, there had once been a time when people would stop him to ask for his autograph, or to scream and profess their love. Now _that_, he hadn't minded.

_I don't look like me anymore_, he thought as he approached one of the trolleys. A gaggle of squealing girls pushed past him just as he was about to board, quickly stomping up the steps to pay their fare. For a moment he stood at the door, waiting for them to finish seating themselves. He hated having to stand, holding onto that swinging handle while people gawked at him, and they were sure to take up the rest of the seats. One of the girls took her seat at the front, grinning at something one of her friends said before turning to gaze out the window. Her eyes landed on him, and her grin faded as a look of recognition flashed across her face.

Tahno turned abruptly on his heel and strode away. With his hair combed back, and his collar pulled high, he didn't think anyone would recognize him. There was a different look in his eyes, and he barely recognized himself when he happened to catch his reflection. But other people still knew him, if only on occasion.

His apartment was a forty-five minute walk from the ferry, but he found he couldn't tolerate the thought of getting into a cab or a trolley. And what did he want to get back home in any sort of hurry for, anyway? There was nothing there for him but more time to sit and obsess. On the other hand, out here in the world there was nothing to do but keep his head down and hope that nobody tried to ask him about how it felt to lose his bending.

There had been a reporter the first day he'd managed to crawl out of bed and head outside after the healers had told him it was hopeless. He couldn't remember clearly, but he was fairly certain that that had been the day he'd had to go down to the police station and give a statement about what had happened at the arena. They had called him at least once a day asking him to come in, and he'd finally just done it to get it over with so they could leave him alone to wallow the rest of his life away in the dark.

He'd been on his way up the station steps when some woman had rushed up to him with a pencil and a pad of paper. As she'd fired questions at him he'd just stared blankly at her, barely hearing the words she was spouting until she asked how it had felt, _physically_, to lose his bending. He liked to think he'd said something clever and snarky, but it had probably just been some woebegone statement about how life wasn't worth living anymore, and for her to go bother someone else.

Then he'd run into Korra, and their conversation was one of the only things he remembered well from that day. _I know we're not exactly best friends, but I'm sorry Amon took your bending away. _It had been so weird, so out of character for him to tell her the things he'd told her, to let her know he was counting on her to take Amon down for him. He didn't know what he would have done if she'd been smug or condescending, or even flippantly dismissed him the way that idiot firebender had.

The sky darkened, the shadows growing long around him. He'd grown skilled at tuning out the rest of the world in the last few weeks, moving like a ghost through the nighttime crowds. He was only a few blocks away from home when he passed a pair of men standing underneath the flickering sign of a seedy looking bar. If they hadn't been smoking he wouldn't have noticed them at all—as it was the repugnant fumes billowed into his face, and he had to stop and turn away, waving to clear the air around him. Despite his reaction, they appeared to take no notice of him.

"…said to meet him at the factory tomorrow night," he heard one say in a low, gruff tone.

"Yeah, I heard Sato had some newfangled flying machine in the works." Tahno stiffened, and pressed his hands over his mouth, hunching his shoulders and fighting the urge to round on them.

"Keep it down! Jeez, if you're gonna shout go back inside!"

"I wasn't shouting," the second voice muttered petulantly, "Nobody even heard me." They were silent for a minute, and Tahno could practically feel their eyes burning holes in his back. He pretended to check his watch, hoping they wouldn't notice that he wasn't wearing one.

"Let's go back inside," said the first, and he heard their feet grinding on the asphalt as they put out their cigarettes. The door creaked a moment later, and he counted to ten before turning to make sure he was alone again on the sidewalk. There were plenty of other pedestrians shuffling by; maybe they really hadn't seen him.

Rationally, he knew he should just keep walking. Go home and work out some sort of plan, maybe call the Avatar and ask for backup. But the moment seized him, a furious desire making his hands shake. A bell over the door jangled as he stepped into the bar, wringing his hands together to warm them and try to still the tremors. This was a stupid idea, especially if he was right in assuming that this bar was some sort of Equalist hangout. He'd been half-expecting to see posters of Amon plastering the walls, declaring "_Down with bending!"_ but of course they wouldn't be dumb enough to hang up anything incriminating in a public place. Just because there were two Equalists here didn't mean non-Equalists might not wander in for a drink.

_I should walk out now,_ he thought, but the bartender had looked up when he'd walked in and was now staring at him with one eyebrow cocked. He felt trapped in the man's gaze, so keeping his head down, he made his way over to the bar and slipped onto a stool.

"What are you having, kid?" asked the bartender. He was a hulking, brick wall of a man, with small, shrewd eyes and a shaved head.

"Um…," Tahno hedged, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck as he pretended to think about his answer. He used the few seconds it bought him to glance surreptitiously over his shoulder. The two smokers from outside were sitting at a corner table with several other men, talking animatedly. He couldn't hear them over the general din of the bar; the music, the chatter, and the clinking of glass.

"Well?" He started, and turned back to see that the bartender was regarding him with a heavy dose of skepticism.

"Water," he answered. The barkeep sighed, and stalked away through a swinging door, probably off to pour him a glass of warm tap water. Tahno didn't particularly care; he didn't plan on staying very long. A picture above the bar provided a good view of the two smokers. He could see them in the reflection on the glass, though not as well if he'd been staring directly at them. The bartender returned with his water, and he hunched over with the lip of the glass pressed to his chin, his eyes glued to the reflective glass.

_What am I even doing?_ He had no idea what his game-plan was, and he couldn't help but feel like he stood out like a sore thumb. In a bar full of laughing drunks, he was a lone teenager pretending to drink water from a cloudy glass.

Somehow he couldn't stop himself from thinking that if he still had his waterbending that he could take out everyone in this bar without breaking a sweat. He wouldn't have thought twice about it either, never mind that some of these people might be innocent. Then again, if he still had his bending he wouldn't even be in here. This was the sort of place the old Tahno would have turned his nose up at. _The old Tahno_, he thought grimly, _what does that make me now?_

Somebody brushed past him suddenly, breaking him out of his reverie. He noted with a start that it was the loudmouth from outside, heading toward the swinging door to the right of the bar. "I'll be right back," he shouted to his friends in the corner.

Without thinking, Tahno moved, sliding off the stool and making for the same door. He still didn't have a plan; just a vague idea of what he might or might not have the guts to do.

The men's' room was at the far end of a darkened hallway. Tahno froze once he was through the swinging door, unnervingly unsure of himself. Behind him was the muffled camaraderie of the bar. Ahead was uncertainty. He could leave now and act like none of it ever happened, but deep down he knew that wasn't an option. _What would Korra say?_

The thought irritated him. What did he even care what Korra would say? She would probably be doing the same thing, only with more confidence and less hesitation. She _was_ the Avatar, but he was still Tahno of the Wolfbats, bending or no.

Inside the bathroom, the Equalist was just washing his hands, head down, completely unaware of what was about to happen. He made a strangled, grunting noise when Tahno jabbed him in the small of his back, grabbing at the edge of the sink as his legs gave out from underneath him, "What the f—!" he snarled, twisting his neck to glare over his shoulder.

Tahno didn't give him a chance to finish. He grabbed the man by the lapels and turned him around, "Where's the factory?!" he demanded, "Where's Amon?!"

"What are you—I don't know—!"

"Don't give me that bullshit, I heard you outside!"

The Equalist's eyes went wide, and he began to sputter and plead, "Please, I can't—I don't—they haven't told us yet! They just wanted us to be ready for orders! I'm too low on the ladder, they don't tell me these things until I need to know! Please, don't hurt me!" Tahno couldn't tell if he was telling the truth, and the man was practically shouting. He began to lose his nerve—how long would it take for his friend's to notice he'd been gone too long? What if the bartender heard him shouting?

With a noise of disgust, he tossed the man to the side and turned to leave. That's when he started shouting for help.

"Help me!" he cried, "Please, help me!" Shit, Tahno thought as he made for the door. Out in the hall, the light was flickering, but he saw well enough that somebody was peering through the swinging door curiously.

"What's going on back there?" asked a female voice. She ducked back out when she heard the man start shouting again from the bathroom. There was no way he was getting out through the main bar. Swearing again, Tahno ducked through another door opposite the men's room, and found himself in some sort of storage area. There were boxes piled high, and dust in the air, but most importantly there was an exit sign, glowing red above a door to the outside world.

He burst outside into an alleyway, and headed left, away from the main street where the entrance to the bar lay. There was a dead-end, but he scaled the rickety fence fairly easily, and ran flat out until he reached another street, this one bustling with late night shoppers. There he took a moment to catch his breath—he hadn't realized how hard his heart was beating until now, and his knees were shaking. _That was a great fucking idea_, Tahno, he berated himself, _Genius_. And what had he accomplished? Absolutely nothing, that's what. Other than scaring the piss out of some Equalist grunt, he hadn't done anything, hadn't gained anything.

_All I did was almost get my ass kicked_, he thought, remembering the huge bartender, and the bar full of people. What if they all _had_ been Equalists? He would have been dead meat, and for no reason other than that he was a damned idiot.

Shaking, and feeling stupid, he turned once again toward home. Hopefully when he woke up in the morning things would be better somehow. Maybe he'd find out tomorrow that Amon had slipped and fallen on a patch of ice and snapped his own neck. Wouldn't that be hilarious?

* * *

There was no such luck the next morning for Tahno, or any of Republic City's inhabitants. He learned that the moment he stepped foot out of his building, and heard the paper-boy on the corner crying out the day's headlines.

"Councilman Tarrlok arrests horde of Equalists, and part of Team Avatar!" the boy shouted, waving a copy of the paper in the air. Tahno snatched the copy from him and tossed him a yuan to quiet any protests he might have. _That son-of-a-bitch_, he sneered as he skimmed through the article. An accompanying picture showed crowds of frightened people huddled together in what looked like Dragon Flats. They didn't look like Equalists to him—just a bunch of pissed off residents, wanting their power turned back on. The only solace he could take from the article was that the Avatar herself hadn't been one of those arrested; just that smug prick of a firebender, his dumb brother, and that snobby rich broad.

Likely, Korra wouldn't be as flippant as he was about her friends' arrests. If he knew her half as well as he thought he did she'd be ready to rip Tarrlok a new asshole, and he decided that he would very much like to be there to see it. After the nights they'd had, he was sure they could both use a good laugh.

There was one place he was sure he would find her today, and it was conveniently located just a few blocks from his apartment. It was a sunny enough day, though brisk, so he decided not to be lazy and made his way toward police headquarters on foot.

The station was not a place of happy memories for most, and he stared up at the building with some disdain as he recalled the day he'd had to give his sworn statement about the Pro-Bending Championship. They'd asked so many questions, making him go over his story again and again until he'd felt the need to ask if they thought the whole thing had been his idea. He'd never been so glad to leave a room as he was when they finally told him he could go home.

At least his timing was good today. Just as he put his foot on the bottom step, the doors opened above and out stepped the Avatar in all her furious glory. Her bald-headed mentor was with her, looking weary and chagrined at the language she was using as they descended the steps. It wasn't until they were almost at the bottom that she spotted Tahno, and whatever she had been about to say stuck in her throat.

"Ahem," she coughed as she paused on the step above him, "Tahno? What are you doing here?" Now that she wasn't raging, he could see that she too was exhausted. Not that he could really blame her; she must have been up all night.

"Looking for you," he answered simply, reaching for the folded up paper beneath his arm, "I heard what happened to your friends."

Some strange emotion flickered across her face, but it was gone before he could identify it. "So you came to help?"

"Something like that."

She sighed heavily, and rubbed a hand against her temples, "Well, there's not much we can do here that I haven't already done. I spent all night cursing out that jackass Saikhan, but it didn't get us anywhere."

"Wow, how could a plan like that fail?" he wondered aloud, but the only response she gave was to roll her eyes.

"Anyway. Tenzin and I were just about to head home. Tenzin, you remember Tahno, right?"

Tahno half-expected the old airbender to have something snarky to say, like that fool Mako. He was all the more surprised when the man put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Yes, I remember. And I'm truly sorry for what happened to you."

"Uh…thanks," was all Tahno could think to say in response. The old man gave him a tired smile, and then told Korra he would wait for her with one of those flying cows the airbenders kept as pets.

"So," he said once they were alone. For some reason this time things felt awkward, and he really disliked being at a loss for words. Korra sighed again and dropped down to the step, sitting with her arms wrapped loosely around her knees.

"This whole thing sucks so much ass," she said, tone creaky with fatigue.

"I know," he said, almost wincing at the sound of sympathy in his voice. He joined her on her step, leaning back on the cold concrete.

"I can't believe Tarrlok would pull this bullshit. I mean, is he really _that_ scared of Amon?" she said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"That's what happens when you put an asshole in charge," Tahno said, "They go crazy with power."

"I'm sure you know exactly what that's like," she snorted.

"Yeah," he agreed, pretending that her comparing him to Tarrlok didn't bother him, "You gonna give him a piece of your mind?"

"No. I'm gonna give him a piece of my boot in his ass," she growled, punching a fist into the palm of her other hand. "He _can't_ do this. He can't just arrest whoever he wants just to try and scare people."

"You mean to try and scare you?" he asked, biting his tongue when she glowered at him.

Then she huffed, and said, "That's _exactly_ what he's trying to do. He's trying to scare me into being a good little Avatar, and not interfere with whatever diabolical scheme he's cooking up."

"So what are you gonna do?" he asked.

"I'm gonna go to City Hall tonight, and then we'll see who's more afraid of who," she said. There was a gleam in her eye that told him she wasn't kidding, not that he would have thought so otherwise. She seemed like the sort of person who did what she said she was going to do—at least when it didn't involve awkward social situations.

"Sounds like a plan," he said, "You need any back-up?"

"No," she shook her head got to her feet, "I need to do this alone. If I bring anybody else along he'll think it's because I'm too afraid to face him alone." She was right, he knew, but that didn't stop him from feeling like he'd been put off again. Also, he wasn't going to get to watch Tarrlok get his ass handed to him. His life was really just turning out to be one long series of disappointments.

"Well, I should get going," she said, brushing off the seat of her pants as he stood up beside her, "I need to get some sleep if I'm gonna do this."

"Right," he agreed, feeling inexplicably left out, and not just because she wasn't taking him along with her tonight. For half a second he considered telling her about what had happened to him the night before, but she spoke before he could make a decision.

"And Tahno," she said, pausing and biting her lip as if she too was having trouble ordering her thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks," she finally managed.

"For what?" he asked, genuinely confused. He hadn't said anything overly rude to her today, but that was hardly worth a thank you, was it?

"For coming here today. It was…nice of you." It was? He nearly told her that he'd only come to watch her get mad, but there had been some other underlying reason, hadn't there?

_I came to make sure you were alright_, he almost said. He wanted to say it, but something stopped him. "Yeah, well. It's no big deal," he said instead, waving a hand dismissively. She grinned up at him, and reached out for the hand, giving it a squeeze before turning and running off toward where her mentor was waiting.

"See you later!" she called over her shoulder, while he stood there flexing his fingers and wondering why he hadn't noticed before how warm her hands were.

* * *

Tahno couldn't sleep that night, like most nights. He took the pills the healers had prescribed, but all they did was make his body feel heavy and useless while his mind raced.

After parting ways with Korra he'd spent much of the day lurking around the shadier areas of town, wearing a scarf and hat to hide his face, hoping to pick up any more hints as to where the Equalists were hiding. As night fell, and he had no more clues than he'd had that morning, he'd given up and made his way home. The previous night there hadn't been many people who'd taken Tarrlok's curfew seriously. Now, though, after seeing what had happened in Dragon Flats the streets were practically deserted.

Only a few people were about, benders hooting as they ran through the streets, shouting taunts at imaginary Equalists. He worried about the cops, fearful that they might decide to arrest him, too. After all, Tarrlok had conveniently left out any mention of former benders in his little declaration.

He was glad to make it home without harassment, though once there he grew angry thinking about the councilman. Not every non-bender in the city was an Equalist, after all. What would happen if they saw his apartment, or one of the books he'd been reading? Would they call him an Equalist, and throw him in jail? The thought only served to both frighten and infuriate him further. In a fit of paranoia he hid all the books, threw out all of his articles, and tore down the map in his living room. All of the locations marked on it had proved to be false leads, anyway.

Once that was done he tried to sleep, and when that didn't work, he took his pills. They usually knocked him out for at least a few hours, but not tonight. Tonight he lay awake, but unable to move. The most absurd thoughts raced through his head, and he wasn't sure if he was asleep or not at some points. He certainly didn't feel rested in the morning, but he remembered worrying about Korra, and remembering how it felt to bend, and thinking how hard it would have been to beat the Fire Ferrets if he hadn't cheated. He even thought at some point that he heard howling outside his window, but that had to have been his imagination. The sound brought up images of Korra's beast roaring in his face, and begging for his food.

When the sun came streaming in through his curtains he sat up stiffly, wanting so badly to just roll over and go back to sleep. What was the point of even getting up anymore? He would get to ask Korra about her unscheduled meeting with Tarrlok, but if she had succeeded she would have her friends back. _And we all know how much they love to have me around_.

Screw it. What did he care what they thought, anyway? He threw back his blanket and got ready to meet the day.

Just as he was locking his front door, one of his neighbors went bustling past him. "Morning," the gruff little man said, making as though he was going to continue right on down the hall. Then he paused, and turned to regard Tahno, one bushy eyebrow cocked, "Say, you wouldn't happen to have heard that dog howling last night?"

"That was real?" Tahno asked, rubbing the remaining sleep out of his eyes.

"Yeah. Figured somebody snuck a dog in here, but then I opened my window and I could hear it coming from outside."

"Somebody's dog got loose," Tahno said with a shrug. He hated getting roped into these banal conversations with his neighbors. They almost never had anything interesting or worthwhile to say to him.

"Hmph, probably. Just thought it was odd, and all, what with what happened at City Hall. Maybe it was trying to warn us. Animals can sense those sorts of things."

Now _that_ got his attention, "Sense what? What happened at City Hall?"

"Didn't you hear? The Avatar was kidnapped last night by Amon."

* * *

**Hurhurhurr. Why did this take me so long to write?**


End file.
